See Colin run (more)? York suggests new staff will turn QB loose in ’15

Here’s an impossible-to-miss-takeaway from Jed York’s appearance on NFL Network this morning: The 49ers owner believes his revamped coaching staff will do a better job of putting players in a “position to make plays.”

York used some variation of that phrase on five occasions during the course of his seven-minute interview. And he strongly suggested the 49ers plan to allow dual-threat quarterback Colin Kaepernick to make more plays with his feet in 2015.

“You’ve got a great guy in (quarterbacks coach) Steve Logan that’s coming in that’s going to work with him on fundamentals and allow us to put together a system that’s going to put Kap in the best position to make plays,” York said. “How many quarterbacks in this league can run 90 yards for a touchdown? I can’t think of many.

“But you’ve got to put Kap in a position where he can make those plays. And put Kap in a position where we can run the ball. We can throw the ball in ways that allow him to be successful, and let him be the absolute stud that he can be on the field. And I think that’s what you’re going to see from us next year. Defenses are not going to want to play against us because you’re not going to know where we’re going to hit you.”

In 2014, his second full season as a starter, Kaepernick rushed for a career-high 639 yards and averaged 6.1 yards a carry. In an overtime loss to the Chargers on Dec. 20, he rushed for 151 yards on seven carries and his 90-yard touchdown run was the second-longest scamper by a quarterback in NFL history.

In an effort to keep Kaepernick healthy, the 49ers have typically avoided having him run too much in the regular season, but have turned him loose in the playoffs. Three of the top four rushing performances in Kaepernick’s career have come in his six postseason starts.

“You’ve got a lot of people who are there, and you’re going to have people that understand what we do well and put our players in a position to make plays,” York said of the 49ers’ coaching staff. “And it’s very simple. You look at Seattle. They have a fairly simple philosophy on both sides of the ball. They let their players make plays. There’s something to be said for that. And I think you’re going to see a lot of that from us. You’re going to see a lot of intensity, a lot of competition — but put our players in position to make plays.”

Here are the highlights from the interview with York, who confirmed the hirings of several coaches, most notably Geep Chryst as offensive coordinator and Eric Mangini as defensive coordinator (questions are paraphrased):

Will there be a shift in offensive philosophy, or will that just be more of the same?

JY: What a lot of people don’t get is, you’ve got Geep as your OC, you’ve got Eric as your DC. Both guys that Jim Harbaugh hired. I think that’s a testament to Jim Harbaugh that we are keeping a lot of continuity from his staff that’s had a lot of success. When you look at Geep, he’s the closest to our quarterback as anyone on the staff. You look at the guys on that staff, Chris Forester, an unbelievable offensive-line coach who has been a coordinator. (Tight ends coach) Tony Sparano, whose been a coordinator, whose been a head coach. You have (running backs coach) Tom Rathman, you have (quarterbacks coach) Steve Logan, whose been a great teacher. You’ve got a lot of people who are there, and you’re going to have people that understand what we do well and put our players in a position to make plays. And it’s very simple. You look at Seattle. They have a fairly simple philosophy on both sides of the ball. They let their players make plays. There’s something to be said for that. And I think you’re going to see a lot of that from us. You’re going to see a lot of intensity, a lot of competition — but put our players in position to make plays.

What do you take from you experience with Jim Harbaugh in your evolution as an owner?

JY: Again, when you mutually part ways there are two sides to it. I realize people don’t want to look at it like that — they want to say Jim was fired. That’s not the case. Jim signed on at Michigan very shortly after he left. Obviously, there were announcements before he left that he was going to Michigan and he obviously had a tie to his alma mater. There were things there – it wasn’t ‘Well, we just couldn’t get along.’ It was on both sides. I think he’s going in a direction that’s going to be very successful for him and his career. And I think we’re going in a direction that continues a lot of the things that he helped put in place. And we’re going to take it to the next step. And I’m very excited about where we are.

Do you see this 49ers team playing at same level as it did from 2011-13?

JY: I expect to see a team that’s going to work every day to improve. I’m not making any projections about where we’re going to be. I think you know very clearly what my opinion is – and the only thing that’s acceptable. I learned that from my uncle (former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo). If you don’t set your standards as high as they can possibly be, you will never achieve them. The only thing that we’re trying to do is learn, teach, grow, understand who everybody is on our team and put our players in a position to make plays. Ultimately, they are the ones to win games. And we’re going to do everything that we can, give them all the resources that we can, to make sure they have every opportunity to be successful and, ultimately, win Super Bowls.

Is fixing Colin Kapernick the top offseason priority?

JY: It’s not fixing Kaepernick. I think Kap is an unbelievable player. He’s a young guy that continues to need to grow and mature, but we all do. You look at Anquan Boldin. Anquan Boldin is going to try to get better in the offseason and he’s already a Hall of Famer. Frank Gore is the same way. But with Kap, again, you’ve got a guy in Geep Chryst that knows him better than anybody else. You’ve got a great guy in Steve Logan that’s coming in that’s going to work with him on fundamentals and allow us to put together a system that’s going to put Kap in the best position to make plays. How many quarterbacks in this league can run 90 yards for a touchdown? I can’t think of many. But you’ve got to put Kap in a position where he can make those plays. And put Kap in a position where we can run the ball. We can throw the ball in ways that allow him to be successful, and let him be the absolute stud that he can be on the field. And I think that’s what you’re going to see from us next year. Defenses are not going to want to play against us because you’re not going to know where we’re going to hit you.